Do you push or pull your weld puddles?

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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I tend to pull my welds away from the molten puddle because I am afraid of clogging the tip.

I was watching a YouTube video and the guy was pushing into the puddle and he made some pretty nice looking welds.

I feel I have more control of how it lays out when I pull out the puddle and move the melt slightly side to side, that always seems to give me good penetration and heat distribution, especially on heavier metals.

Probably over thinking but I have been thinking a lot about it lately because i am getting ready to build a go kart.


I am running a Lincoln mig with the bottle.
How do you guys control the molten puddle??
 
I pull my welds, because that’s what was shown to me by an I-CAR certified welder. Not saying I’m good, just saying what I was shown, and my welds came out pretty nice.
 
Always push... You can't see thru the tip of the mig gun unless you're Superman.

I tried out some new welders at a car show years ago... I pulled the welds and the guy doing the demos said " oh you're one of THOSE guys!"... he pointed out the error of my ways.
 
I pull mine because that's the way I was taught over 30 years ago with a stick welder. Now I have a mig and still pull mine but gave saw many certified welders pull when using stick but push when Tig welding.
 
It depends on the situation.
If the metal is thin, I always push the puddle about 5 or 10 degrees and ''whip'' the weld slightly (about 1/8'') much like you would do with a 6010 arc welding rod.
Why?
I have two reasons for this.
First, it tends to clean the metal you're coming to, and secondly, it prevents a situation that mig welds are known for which is ''cold lap''.
Also, I run the most voltage possible without the wire burning back to the tip, and it should sound like bacon sizzling in a frying pan while welding.
Remember, voltage=penetration and wire speed=amperage or heat.
Too much wire speed, and the wire will tend to stub and push the gun away from the weld, and too much voltage will make the wire burn back to the tip.
This is how I was taught to do it, and I have several welding tickets in stick, mig, flux core, and tig welding.
And don't forget, the cleaner the metal is, the better and more consistent your welds will be especially with mig or tig.
I hope this helps..........
 
All I have is a stick welder, I'd have to look at my notes. The well-informed guy at my welding store told me 6011 gets pushed, 6013 gets pulled, or the other way around I can't remember. It doesn't make any difference that I can tell, all my welds look like a train wreck no matter what I do. Self-taught, and it shows! :eek:
 
This is a great thread for mig welding. Maybe not all the right info but a lot of info that you don't get from reading books and instructions on welding. I used to stick weld too and weld pretty much anything pretty good. Now I'm just learning to mig weld and so far I like stick much better. So I know I'm doing something wrong. LOL, I think I've been pulling also. Steve
 
Certified welder I also had this conversation with my instructor and asked why robots mig weld backwards he said a robot doesn't have to "see" what its welding .....we do:eek:
 
My stick rig is a coin toss on working fr me or not. Seems I always get rod stick unless I crank it up to 80-100A then I burn through the material. Im welding exhaust pipe so probably the hardest thing to weld with a stick. My Mig will lay bird **** on anything but I got OK with it after I started welding thicker stuff like shock towers. I think I instinctively pull the welds as it reduces heat but I could push next time to see if it changed anything. I got no skills so it may be a moot point.
 
Mr. Sinister said:
Certified welder I also had this conversation with my instructor and asked why robots mig weld backwards he said a robot doesn't have to "see" what its welding .....we do:eek:
Click to expand...
whats backwards? I see convertor hubs being auto welded in a pull config
 
To me it depends. All on the position and layout of what I'm welding. Sometimes it's easier to push, sometimes pull. I've made just as good and just as crappy welds either way.
 
RustyRatRod said:
To me it depends. All on the position and layout of what I'm welding. Sometimes it's easier to push, sometimes pull. I've made just as good and just as crappy welds either way.
Click to expand...
I agree what and how will dictate the method used...... Practice more Rusty:)
 
stick welding, and mig flux core - pull
gas shielded mig - push

If there is slag, you must drag (pull).
 
I pull with flux core and with mig. Sometimes push with certain circumstances, but mostly pull. My welds come out good with flux core and mig doing the same method with both.

I had been doing flux core for years, then updated my Lincoln weldpack to mig. I tried switching to push with mig because someone who was "more knowledgeable" told me that's whe way you use a mig compared to flux core when I first set it up. Welds turned out like **** pushing it. I tried everything from adjusting the wire feed speed, to the heat setting, gas pressure, torch angle. You name it, I tried it. Then I went back to what I was used to with the pull method. Viola my welds look great.

The moral of the story here Rani is, push or pull, do whatever works for you to make a good solid full penetrating weld. I dont believe either way is right or wrong. Whatever works comfortably for you to get the job done well to make it solid.

Maybe it's just me, but personally I cant understand why anybody would push the weld. Post #3 saying you cant see through the tip ?!? Pulling or pushing the weld your almost always looking at the torch from an angle anyways. I can see the puddle just fine pulling it. I can also angle the wire so its feeding into the bottom of the weld. This is especially important when welding thicker materials that have a V notch you have to fill, like when shortening an axle tube. Plus pushing the weld, your putting your hands towards the heat source of a fresh weld. I mean, I wear my PPE including heavy leather gloves, but even they dont protect you completely from a fresh hot weld. That is the other reason I pull a weld.
 
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i only mig, and prefer to push, but do what ever i need to if the positioning sucks. if it's vertical, pushing is soo much easier
 
I just asked my son. He welds all the new NY. PA. and NJ. turnpike trucks together every day. He said different applications are different. Pushing the wire into the weld is a stronger weld because it give more penetration and heat. The optimal way for a standard weld is straight on. Drag the weld you lay it on top No penetration., Set the welder on pulse. It will drop dime puddles and give you the waves on its own.

Walk the Dog don't drag him.
 
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